volcanohunter

I wouldn't put too much stock in how the government classifies various industries for statistical purposes, because that's all it is. It's nothing so profound as a philosophical assessment of profession A, B or C.

On the contrary. When audiences watch choreography so attentively and quietly that you could hear the proverbial pin drop, it indicates great concentration, respect and even absorption on their part. It means they are watching the choreography and performances as a work of art, not as a succession of technical feats. When a Russian female dancer performs 32 (or so) fouettés in the finale of a grand pas de deux, and the music stops mid-coda so that she can take a bow, this has nothing to do with art. The choreography has been reduced to a circus trick. When Russian audiences applaud the "tabletop" lifts in the second act of Giselle, they are not looking at them as though the title character were hovering high in the air like a ghost. They are reacting to them as a gymnastic stunt and completely destroying the scene's mood of unearthly longing. When they repeatedly interrupt the entrance of the Shades in La Bayadère, they are likewise disrupting the scene's magical atmosphere. And when they applauded the entrance of the ballerina in the second movement of Symphony in C, it indicated that not only were they insensitive to the rapt atmosphere of the choreography, they weren't listening to Bizet's ravishing music either. If they had been, they wouldn't have smothered it with pointless noise. No, I think it's far better to watch in rapt silence and reward the dancers with thunderous applause when the music ends.

As it is, the Royal Ballet livestreams rehearsals and special presentations regularly. I counted nine since the last World Ballet Day, with a tenth coming in a few days. These can often be more interesting than the quickie rehearsals of WBD. But I'm sure it's not cheap to produce, and some companies may think the cost is too high.

No, just the opposite. Ballet companies in the United States are committed to developing the art form and moving it forward. Russian audiences treat ballet like a circus, always hollering and applauding, even in the most inappropriate places, which they could only do if they failed to appreciate the emotional atmosphere of the ballet they are watching and the music to which it is being danced.

This is absolutely true. I am reluctant to pinpoint the cause, but I suspect part of the problem lies in the school. Partly it's because a lot of ballet companies worldwide were dominated by principals from the classes of 1996-99; they carried the load for a very long time and later dancers didn't develop. That generation has been leaving the stage gradually, and the replacements are not of their standard. I don't know why the company always plans a short run of Giselle. In any case, ticket sales for the opening triple bill are soft. It would have made sense to do fewer of those and a few more Giselles.

I adore the music for Coppélia. I love Sylvia also. But I'm probably an outlier in wishing that Balanchine hadn't interpolated parts of the latter into the former. It seems pretty clear to me that Delibes composed those scores to sound very different in character. For me, the excerpts from Sylvia sound really out of place. (So here I'll admit sheepishly that Balanchine's version of Coppélia is not my very favorite production of the ballet. I cast my vote for Peggy van Praagh's gorgeous production for the Australian Ballet, though she, too, had to find music for Franz's variation elsewhere, and I don't love her choice.)

Casting for the company's tour to London and Paris, which begins today: Sadler's Wells October 2 Passion (James Kudelka) - Heather Odgen, McGee Maddox, Genevieve Penn Nabity, Larkin Miller islands (Emma Portner) - Heather Ogden, Genevieve Penn Nabity Angels' Atlas (Crystal Pite) - Svetlana Lunkina, Ben Rudisin; Alexandra MacDonald, Spencer Hack; Hannah Galway, Siphesihle November; Genevieve Penn Nabity; Donald Thom October 3 (mat) Passion - Svetlana Lunkina, Christopher Gerty, Calley Skalnik, Harrison James islands - Alexandra MacDonald, Hannah Galway Angels' Atlas - Heather Ogden, Harrison James; Chelsy Meiss, Donald Thom; Genevieve Penn Nabity, Spencer Hack: Alexandra MacDonald; Shaakir Muhammad, Kota Sato October 3 (eve) Passion - Heather Odgen, McGee Maddox, Genevieve Penn Nabity, Larkin Miller islands - Heather Ogden, Genevieve Penn Nabity Angels' Atlas - Svetlana Lunkina, Ben Rudisin; Alexandra MacDonald, Spencer Hack; Hannah Galway, Siphesihle November; Alexandra MacDonald; Donald Thom October 4 Passion - Svetlana Lunkina, Christopher Gerty, Calley Skalnik, Harrison James islands - Alexandra MacDonald, Hannah Galway Angels' Atlas - Heather Ogden, Harrison James; Chelsy Meiss, Donald Thom; Genevieve Penn Nabity, Spencer Hack: Alexandra MacDonald; Shaakir Muhammad, Kota Sato October 5 (mat) Monika Haczkiewicz, Josh Hall, Koto Ishihara, Keaton Leier islands - Alexandra MacDonald, Hannah Galway Angels' Atlas - Heather Ogden, Harrison James; Chelsy Meiss, Donald Thom; Genevieve Penn Nabity, Spencer Hack: Alexandra MacDonald; Shaakir Muhammad, Kota Sato October 5 (eve) Passion - Heather Odgen, McGee Maddox, Genevieve Penn Nabity, Larkin Miller islands - Heather Ogden, Genevieve Penn Nabity Angels' Atlas - Svetlana Lunkina, Ben Rudisin; Tene Ward, Spencer Hack; Hannah Galway, Siphesihle November; Alexandra MacDonald; Donald Thom October 6 (mat) Passion - Monika Haczkiewicz, Josh Hall, Koto Ishihara, Keaton Leier islands - Heather Ogden, Genevieve Penn Nabity Angels' Atlas - Svetlana Lunkina, Ben Rudisin; Tene Ward, Spencer Hack; Hannah Galway, Siphesihle November; Genevieve Penn Nabity; Donald Thom https://national.ballet.ca/productions/on-tour-london-england/#casting Théâtre des Champs-Élysées October 12 Passion - Svetlana Lunkina, Christopher Gerty, Genevieve Penn Nabity, Larkin Miller UtopiVerse (William Yong) - Koto ishihara (Lotus), Ben Rudisin (Leo), Christopher Gerty (The Daemon), Emma Ouellet (The Undermined) Angels' Atlas - Heather Ogden, Harrison James; Alexandra MacDonald, Spencer Hack; Hannah Galway, Siphesihle November; Genevieve Penn Nabity; Donald Thom October 13 Passion - Heather Ogden, McGee Maddox, Calley Skalnik, Harrison James UtopiVerse - Tirion Law (Lotus), Siphesihle November (Leo), Noah Parets (The Daemon), Emma Ouelett (The Undermined) Angels' Atlas - Heather Ogden, Harrison James; Chelsy Meiss, Donald Thom; Genevieve Penn Nabity, Spencer Hack; Alexandra MacDonald; Shaakir Muhammad, Kota Sato October 14 Passion - Monika Haczkiewicz, Josh Hall, Koto Ishihara, Keaton Leier UtopiVerse - Koto ishihara (Lotus), Ben Rudisin (Leo), Christopher Gerty (The Daemon), Emma Ouellet (The Undermined) Angels' Atlas - Svetlana Lunkina, Ben Rudisin; Alexandra MacDonald, Spencer Hack; Hannah Galway, Siphesihle November; Genevieve Penn Nabity; Donald Thom October 15 Passion - Svetlana Lunkina, Christopher Gerty, Genevieve Penn Nabity, Larkin Miller UtopiVerse - Tirion Law (Lotus), Siphesihle November (Leo), Noah Parets (The Daemon), Emma Ouelett (The Undermined) Angels' Atlas - Svetlana Lunkina, Ben Rudisin; Chelsy Meiss, Donald Thom; Genevieve Penn Nabity, Spencer Hack; Alexandra MacDonald; Shaakir Muhammad, Kota Sato https://national.ballet.ca/productions/on-tour-paris-france/#casting

"After 10 fantastic years of bringing together audiences around the globe on World Ballet Day, The Australian Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and San Fransisco Ballet have decided to pause the event this year. "We're looking to return in 2025 with a refreshed and dynamic approach, bringing the World Ballet Day celebrations to even more people." With so many companies taking part in recent years, I'm sure there was a lot of audience splitting, particularly in the very crowded Central European time zone. https://worldballetday.com/

U.S. showtimes are now listed on the film site, primarily at AMC, Cinemark, Regal and Galaxy cinemas, which stands to reason, since it's an IMAX film. https://www.swanlake.film/tickets/

This may be of particular interest to ABT fans this season. On Tuesday, November 19, at 19:00 CET/1:00 pm Eastern, the Vienna State Ballet will livestream its premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale. These streams are free of charge and usually available on demand for 72 hours. https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/256ab3f9-bd07-422c-bf3d-0cbb61818139 November 19th is set to be an "all-Wheeldon, all the time" day, because the Australian Ballet will livestream his newest ballet Oscar earlier that day. https://my.australianballet.com.au/19551/19553

On Friday, October 4, at 19:45 CET (1:45 pm Eastern), La Scala will livestream John Neumeier's The Lady of the Camellias, starring Nicoletta Manni as Marguerite, Roberto Bolle as Armand, Martina Arduino as Manon Lescaut, Nicola Del Freo as Des Grieux, Virna Toppi as Prudence, Marco Agostino as Gaston and Caterina Bianchi as Olympia. The cost of the stream is €9.90 for HD and €11.90 for Ultra HD. Atypically, the stream will not be available on demand after the performance. https://lascala.tv/en/show/7d611d82-6372-43d6-ac10-ca688e50fc35/ At the moment there is some confusion on the La Scala TV site about the date of the performance, but the main site indicates that Manni and Bolle are scheduled to dance on the 4th. (Given that it's a live-only stream, it would be nice if the site had its dates straight.) https://www.teatroallascala.org/en/season/2023-2024/ballet/la-dame-aux-camelias.html

In January 2003 the presidents of Ukraine and Russia signed a treaty delineating the border between the two countries. It was ratified by the parliaments of both countries in April 2004. On the Russian side the treaty was signed by President Vladimir V. Putin. So he officially and legally recognized the Crimea as Ukrainian territory, until he didn't. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=08000002803fe18a The "separate" status of Sevastopol is not especially extraordinary. It had a separate administration from the rest of the Crimea. The city of Kyiv is also a separate administrative entity and is not the capital of Kyiv province. That doesn't mean it isn't part of Ukraine. It was the capital of the Ukrainian SSR before it was the capital of independent Ukraine. The city of Moscow isn't a part of Moscow province either, because it is also a separate administrative entity. That doesn't mean it isn't part of Russia.

I can't imagine why Clarke would possibly want to trade in the Royal Ballet for ABT. From autumn to summer he has regular performances in London, where he is a preferred partner of Osipova and Nuñez. London is a more convenient launching pad for guest appearances in Europe and closer to his native Scotland than New York. He'll be in Tokyo for a couple of performances in mid-October, he'll dance at the end of the month in New York. It sounds like the life of a jetsetting principal dancer.

That doesn't mean that Godunov couldn't have visited gay bars or nightclubs that were popular among gay men, because he was invited or curious or came with a group of people. It's entirely possible that the reviewer from the Bay Area Reporter was well versed in gay night spots in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. In any case, I don't think Godunov sued the newspaper for defamation.

@Raina alerted me to the fact that the first day of individual ticket sales on the NBoC site has not exactly gone smoothly. For reasons that I cannot comprehend, Nutcracker tickets went on sale with the rest of the season, resulting in 40-minute wait times, and once ticket buyers got through, they found that the seat-selection system wasn't working. At this point the queue is gone and for some programs, at least, seat selection is working again. But I was absolutely flabbergasted that for those shows for which the fifth ring is open, tickets for the first row and the front-center section cost $204. That is utter madness. Those are horrible, vertigo-inducing seats, very high up, and the company is charging that much for them?!! Hope Muir’s idea of making ballet more "accessible" is clearly not what I understand the word to mean.